Theater Project Clears Legal Hurdle : Redevelopment: Judge rejects traffic, parking and noise objections raised by a civic watchdog group. Next, the multiscreen cinema must pass a referendum May 18.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has denied a Downey group’s request to kill a city-subsidized multiscreen cinema planned for near the civic center.

The ruling clears a major stumbling block for a development that Downey officials view as vital to reviving a slumbering downtown. The theater project still must pass muster with Downey voters in a May 18 referendum.

In last week’s ruling, Judge Robert H. O’Brien wrote that the city had sufficiently considered how the 10- to 12-screen theater would affect downtown traffic, noise and parking. “We feel Judge O’Brien has vindicated the city,” Downey City Manager Gerald M. Caton said. “The judge found nothing illegal.” The ruling will allow voters to judge the theater on its merits and not on the issue of legality, Caton said.

But attorney Christopher Sutton, who sought to stop the theater project, called the ruling “erroneous.”

“The judge has just ignored the points we raised and the record,” said Sutton, who represents Downey Cares, a group of residents and business owners who have previously sued the city over development issues.

Downey Cares said the city’s agreement to build the theater should be nullified until the city conducts more traffic, noise and parking studies; seeks approval from additional city committees, and requires members of city committees to disclose how the theater development would affect them financially. The organization also said the city should be required to adopt a state-approved plan for providing affordable housing, and set aside more money to pay for such housing.

Judge O’Brien ruled that the housing issues were irrelevant to the theater project. Sutton said an appeal is likely.

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The proposed multiscreen theater would seat as many as 2,500. The project, approved last November by the City Council, includes a four-story, 355-space, free public parking structure.

The theater would be built on the site of the former county courthouse on 2nd Street, between La Reina Avenue and New Street.

Opponents have argued that the development is too large and will clog downtown streets and create parking tangles. They also said the city has given too many financial concessions to developer George Krikorian.

Officials would refund to Krikorian the city’s share of property taxes generated by the theater, an estimated $1.42 million over the 30-year agreement. The city, which paid the county $1.3 million for the project site in 1991, would sell the land to Krikorian for $1.

In exchange, the city would get an entertainment complex for its residents, any revenue generated from sales taxes, and perhaps an economic catalyst to draw restaurants and other businesses to a sleepy downtown. Krikorian recently estimated he would invest about $10 million in the project.

O’Brien’s ruling elated a group of theater supporters that recently organized to lobby voters. “The chance of renewed vitality in this town makes this project extremely important to everybody,” said Brian Gasdia, a city planning commissioner and local attorney.

More than 5,400 residents--about 1,300 more than necessary--signed petitions calling for the referendum. The election will cost the city about $50,000.